The present invention relates generally to picket fences, and more particularly to picket fences fabricated from plastic components, and mechanisms for securing picket caps to profiles or slats of the fence.
Picket fences fabricated from plastic materials, and other artificial materials, typically require the use of adhesives, screws, and so forth for securing the various components of the fence together. The use of screws for securing components of a picket fence together can be time consuming, and the screws can come loose over time. Also, the use of adhesives is not only time consuming for securing parts together, but requires extra clean up measures. One particularly troublesome area in assembling picket fences fabricated from plastic materials is the securement of picket caps to vertical profiles or slats of a picket fence.
One object of the invention is to provide an improved mechanism for securing a picket cap to a vertical profile of a picket fence consisting of plastic material.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved mechanism for securing a picket cap to the top end of a profile of a picket fence of plastic or similar material.
With these and other objects in mind, and in view of the problems in the art, the present invention includes generally U-shaped clips of appropriate material for installation on opposing end tabs of a picket cap. A backside of the clip includes an inwardly extending and downwardly projecting partial cut-out portion for providing one or more barb members that partially embeds itself into a portion of the inside wall of the associated end tab or tabs of a picket cap the clip is installed on, for preventing removal or dislodgement of the clip from the end tab or tabs of the associated picket cap. The front face of the clip is in one embodiment of the invention can be shorter or longer than the backface of the clip, and has a front lip portion bent away from the clip body at an angle sufficient for having the bent lip portion act as a barb for partially penetrating into an associated inside wall of a profile into which the associated end tab of a picket cap is installed or pushed into. The barb-like lip of the front face of the clip extends across the full width of the front face, and prevents the picket cap once installed in the open end of a profile from being removed from the profile. Accordingly, in one embodiment of the invention, with the inventive clips installed on opposing end tabs of a picket cap, once the associated cap is installed on the end of a profile, it will become securely attached thereto, thereby enhancing the reliability and durability of the associated picket fence.
In a second embodiment of the invention, the above-described U-shaped clips may instead of a front lip portion, include one or more teeth bent away from the clip body at an angle sufficient for having the teeth portion act as a barb for preventing movement of the corresponding mated component parts, i.e., the picket cap and the profile fence.
In another embodiment of the invention, the U-shaped clips of the invention may be conveniently installed on an edge portion of a top opening of a profile of a fence post with the partial cut-out portion on the backside of the clip projecting upwardly for providing a barb member that partially penetrates into an associated inside wall of the profile. The barb-like lip or teeth of the front face of the clip extends along the width of the front face, and prevents a post cap configured to fit over and around the top opening of the profile from being removed therefrom. The barb-like lip or teeth of the clip embeds itself into the inside surface of the installed post cap. Accordingly, with the inventive clips installed on the edge portion of the open end of the profile, the post cap will become securely attached to the profile, thus enhancing the reliability and durability of the associated picket fence.